Tourism and Cooperatives Commission ends final-consideration session without quorum; director ordered to seek referendum on two measures

José Rivera Madera, president of the Puerto Rico House Commission on Tourism and Cooperativism, called a final-consideration session at 10:51 a.m. on May 14 to consider House Bill 1983 and Senate Bill 1215. Rivera Madera opened the public meeting in Hearing Room 3 and on Zoom and named commission staff present, including Attorney Antonio Becerra, identified in the session as the commission’s executive director, and José Velázquez.

Rivera Madera outlined the measures before the commission. He said House Bill 1983 would amend Articles 320 and 321 of Law No. 83 (July 2, 1987), the statute governing the horse-racing industry, to authorize electronic gaming terminals at the racetrack “hasta un máximo de doscientos terminales.” He summarized Senate Bill 1215 as an amendment to Article 36.5 of Law 258 (2018) to clarify that the Comisión de Desarrollo Cooperativo has jurisdiction over formation and review of documents for electric cooperatives and that the Negociado de Energía’s regulatory jurisdiction is limited to duties defined in Law 258.

Before any votes could occur, the commission conducted a quorum check. An on-record staff respondent reported there was not the required quorum to begin voting on the measures. Rivera Madera then directed the commission’s executive director to “hacer todos los procedimientos necesarios para buscar la aprobación mediante referéndum de dichas medidas,” instructing staff to pursue an approval-by-referendum process because the panel could not proceed with formal votes.

Rivera Madera read the roster of commission members and ex officio members into the record, naming Joel Sánchez Ayala, Edgardo Feliciano, Sor Higgins, Luis Ortiz Lugo, Héctor Ferrer, Edith Charbonner Chinea, Wilson Román, José Márquez Reyes, Denis Márquez LeBron and Lizzy Burgos Muñiz among those listed, and naming ex officio members including Rafael (Rafa) Fernández Montañé, José Varela Fernández, Lidia Méndez, Ángel Matos, Roberto Rivera Ruiz de Porras, Carlos Johnny Méndez, Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló, José Aponte Hernández and Mariana Nogales Molinelli. The commission did not take any votes on either bill during the session.

The session record notes the final-consideration convocation was filed May 9, 2024; Rivera Madera cited House rules and resolution 162 as the procedural basis for the public final-consideration session. With no quorum and no roll-call vote, the meeting was closed at about 10:55 a.m.; the director was tasked to pursue the referendum mechanism as the next step for advancing the two measures.

Next steps: the commission’s executive director is to initiate procedures for referendum approval of the measures; no calendar or timetable for that process was specified in the session record.